War on I-4 Battle Goes To Closing Seconds Before No. 25 UCF prevails, 46-39, Over USF
Battie ties USF record with fifth straight 100-yard game
Boyles recovers two fumbles, forces one as Bulls rebound from 28-point deficit
TAMPA, Nov. 26, 2022– The USF football team (1-11; 0-8 AAC) showed the grit it has displayed all season Saturday in Raymond James Stadium as the Bulls battled back from a 28-point deficit to take a late lead before falling 46-39 to No. 25 UCF (9-3; 6-2 AAC) on a touchdown with 20 seconds to play.
The Knights took an 8-6 lead in the War on I-4 by posting their sixth straight victory in the series that will be on hiatus until at least 2028 with UCF joining the Big 12 next season.
UCF brought the No. 13-ranked offense into the game and quickly showed its potence as the Knights leapt to a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter and compiled 245 rushing yards in the first half. UCF took advantage of two first half USF turnovers to seize control of the game before the Bulls got on the board with a Byrum Brown two-yard touchdown pass to Sean Atkins with 40 seconds to play in the first half.
The Knights led 31-7 in the third quarter before USF scored 22 unanswered points to close within two, 31-29, and then took a late fourth quarter lead, 39-38, following a 42-yard Brown touchdown run.
The Bulls forced three second half turnovers, including getting the ball back at the UCF 49 with 5:13 to play and leading by one, but couldn’t gain a first down and gave the ball back to UCF with 2:49 to play. The Knights drove 82 yards in eight plays and grabbed the victory on a 14-yard Mikey Keene pass to tight end Alec Haller with 20 seconds to play. Haller was ruled to have gotten his toe just inbounds inside the pylon on review.
UCF finished with 547 yards of offense behind 133 yards rushing from quarterback John Rhys Plumlee and 73 yards and one touchdown passing. Plumlee left the game in the second half with a hamstring injury. The Knights posted 345 yards rushing on the day.
USF posted a season-best 298 yards on the ground led by Brian Battie who posted 144 yards and a touchdown to log a USF record tying fifth-straight 100-yard game. Brown threw for 140 yards and a touchdown and ran for 109 and two touchdowns in his second career start.
UCF won the toss, took the opening kickoff and used six plays to go 75 yards, scoring on a 64-yard rushing touchdown by Plumlee.
The Knights continued to take charge driving 85 yards in 13 plays and scoring with a walk in 3-yard rushing touchdown by RJ Harvey to extended their lead to 14-0.
USF responded, putting together a strong drive as Brown hit Kelley Joiner for a 17-yard gain and Holden Willis for a gain of 24 that gave the Bulls 1st and goal. Brown scrambled to avoid a UCF rush and nearly pulled off a great play before getting hit from behind and fumbling the ball into the end zone for turnover and a touchback.
UCF capitalized on the fumble and drove 80 yards, scoring with a 20-yard rushing touchdown from Plumlee to stretch their lead to 21-0.
Battie returned the kickoff 38 yards and Brown extended the momentum with an 11-yard rush. On the next play, a bobbled pass by Willis was intercepted and the Knights took over on their own 47.
With great field position, UCF went 53 yards in eight plays, scoring on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Plumlee to Ryan O’Keefe to leave USF with 28 unanswered points and 7:20 left to go in the first half.
USF sparked some life when Brown drove the Bulls 75 yards in 14 plays and hit Sean Atkins with a 2-yard touchdown pass to make the score 28-7 to go into the half.
On USF’s opening drive of the second half, they attempted a flea flicker which was broken up and resulted in a turnover at the USF 40. The defense stood firm however and forced a 27-yard field goal that stretched the UCF lead to 31-7.
The Bull’s responded with a 69-yard run from Battie which put him over 100 yards. The run, set up a 4-yard rushing touchdown from Brown with a two-point conversion by Jimmy Horn that closed the gap to 31-15.
USF continued their momentum when the defense forced a fumble, recovered by Dwayne Boyles on the UCF 25. The Bulls used four plays to score with a 5-yard rushing plunge by Michel Dukes and another two-point conversion pass to Atkins, making it a 31-23.
USF’s defense rose again when Boyles stripped the ball and recovered another fumble on the UCF 29. This time USF used three plays to score with 14-yard rushing touchdown by Battie. The Bulls attempt at another two-point conversion was unsuccessful, and the score stood 29-31 with 3:31 left in the third quarter.
The Knights put together a 13 play, 75-yard drive to score with a 4-yard touchdown pass giving them a nine-point lead and taking off six minutes off the clock.
USF was relentless as Brown found Horn for two big back-to-back receptions for 45 yards. The Knights sacked Brown for a loss of nine, forcing USF to kick a field goal, closing the gap 32-38 with 9:31 left in the game.
On UCF’s next possession on a crucial 3rd & 3, Will Jones got the stop to give USF the ball back with 8:00 minutes left in the game. Atkins returned the punt 33 yards to the UCF45. In less than 49 seconds, the Bulls went 45 yards and Brown ran for a 42-yard touchdown which gave USF the lead, 39-38, with 7:02 left in the game.
With the Knights driving down the field, USF’s defense continued to apply pressure and forced a fumble, recovered by Christian Williams on the UCF 39. The Bulls ran on three pays and were forced to punt with 2:43 left in the game and a one-point lead.
Keene launched a 41-yard pass that put the Knights on the USF29 with 2:15 left to play. On 3rd-and-8 with 20 seconds left in the game, Keene found Holler for a touchdown and UCF converted a two-point conversion which gave them a 46-39 lead.
USF received the on-side kick at the 50. A 10-yard scramble by Brown placed them at the UCF40. Brown passed to the middle for nine yards and USF was forced to use their last timeout with four-seconds left in the game. On the final play, Brown launched the ball in the end-zone to Willis, but it was broken up in the back of the endzone.
KEY STATS
• The USF defense forced three turnovers in the game, equaling its most in a game on the season and its most since forcing three vs. Howard on Sept. 10.
• The USF offense had two 100-yard rushers in a game for the second time on the season as Brian Battie ran for 144 and Byrum Brown 109. Previously Battie (150) and Gerry Bohanon (102) achieved the feat at Florida.
• USF ran for a season-best 298 yards, eclipsing the previous high of 286 set at Florida for the Bulls 7th 200-yard rushing game on the year. USF also gave up a season high 345 yards on the ground as UCF eclipsed BYU’s mark of 329 posted in the season opener for the ninth 200-yard rushing game against USF on the year.
NOTABLES
• RB Brian Battie logged his fifth-straight 100-yard rushing game and seventh of the season, as he ran for 144 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. He tied Jordan Cronkrite (2018), Quinton Flowers (2016) and Marlon Mack (2015) for the USF consecutive 100-yard game record.
• LB Dwayne Boyles recovered two fumbles and forced one, coming on back-to-back defensive possessions in the third quarter, that led to two touchdowns and cut a 31-7 UCF lead to 31-29.
• QB Byrum Brown made his second career start and passed for 140 yards and 1 touchdown and ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns, after accounting for four touchdowns in his first start at Tulsa.
QUOTABLES
“I’m so proud of our young men. For their resiliency in incredibly adverse situations. We can’t go back and change what happened prior to tonight and prior to three weeks ago, but in an incredibly difficult situations, these young men, coaches, families, administrators, everyone, they all showed up and did exactly what we talked about on day one and that was do their job.”
Iterim Head Coach Daniel Da Prato
UP NEXT
The Bulls will introduce the first members of the 2023 recruiting class on NCAA Early Signing Day on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
Season tickets • Single-game tickets • Group tickets (10+): call 1-800-GoBulls
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and celebrated its 25th season in 2021 while breaking ground on a $22 million Indoor Performance Facility. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections, including 2021 consensus All-American Brian Battie, and 31 first-team all-conference selections. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft and has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games), posting a program-record six straight appearances from 2005-2010 and most recently making four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18. The Bulls posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
Follow @USFFootball on Twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
– #GoBulls –
